Oil trading has seen a change in the trading trend in recent days, with a bullish trend prevailing, which has pushed the price of oil above the $85 per barrel mark. This state of affairs, according to economic correspondents in connection with commodity market analysts, was achieved in a situation where economic data from China and the US, together with the expected reduction in oil supplies to world markets as a result of the agreement between the oil producers of the OPEC cartel and their allies from OPEC+, supported positive investor sentiment. Based on these facts, the price of oil, both WTI and Brent, recorded an increase in their prices.
Currently, during the beginning of the new trading week, which is marked in the calendar of this year 2023 as the 36th in a row, during the European Monday afternoon starting on September 4, 2023, at approximately 13:33 CET, the light American oil WTI (West Texas Intermediate) was traded on the commodity market NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) at a value of 85.61 USD per barrel with a daily growth of +0.07% of its price so far. This current price, according to technical analysis data, thus represents a total annual increase of +7.68% of the price over the last 52 weeks. The price of WTI crude oil has increased in this year 2023 a little higher than this stated annual average and since the beginning of this year 2023 by + 8.99% of its price. WTI’s European counterpart, namely Brent, was also trading in a bullish trading trend on the day and time reported, with a daily gain of +0.03% to $88.58 per barrel.
The current price of Brent North Sea oil, according to technical analysis data, represents an annual increase in price by volume of 6.38% of the price over the last 52 weeks. Brent North Sea crude oil has increased the dynamics and pace of its growth in this year 2023 and has strengthened its price by +7.89% since the beginning of this year alone. These current prices of crude oil resulting from trades concluded in the commodity market have been achieved in a situation where the exchange value of the US dollar (USD), as the main commodity currency of the world, is increasing and thus represents multi-year highs of a strong US dollar (USD). According to the dollar index DXY (US Dollar Curency Index), which measures the value of the USD with the other six major world currencies, during the European Monday on 09/04/2023, at approximately 13|:58 CET, it was at a point level of 104.09 USD points with by the previous daily drop of -0.14% of the point value according to this index. It is the situation regarding economic data and the reduction in the volume of crude oil production by OPEC and OPEC+ producers that caused the price of oil to also strengthen despite the strengthening USD, and thus the market bypasses the inverse rule, according to analysts of brokerage companies.
Economic data showing the state of China’s economy then showed that the country’s Communist leadership had cut deposit rates at some of the country’s biggest banks, along with easing lending rules for property buyers. But investors continue to expect more fundamental steps to support the ailing property sector, which has been one of the main drags on China’s economy since the outbreak of the virus pandemic. However, analytical studies predict the development of the Chinese economy as the so-called reopening of markets, when investors and traders expect an increased demand for oil, since China is still the world’s largest importer of oil. Another supportive signal for the rise in oil prices in the commodity market was the release of US labor market data, where employment data was reported on Friday 1.9.2023 as higher than expected, with non-farm payrolls increasing by 187,000 jobs last month . A broader cooling in the US labor market, as seen in slowing job growth, has reduced the chances of further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in the immediate future, financial market analysts said.
